The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Time flies and it’s July in a blink of an eye.

Lin Zhichao walked towards the conference room of "Yangtze River Industry", passing the office hall, the staff all paid attention, their eyes were either admiration, respect, or smile.

As the most promising real estate company, Cheung Kong's company benefits are also among the best in the industry. It can be said that almost every employee has a strong sense of belonging, and most of them will have no problem retiring.

Lin Zhichao did not pause or pay tribute. After all, he was familiar with everyone, so there was no need to bother. He walked straight to the door of the conference room. The clerk in the office was waiting at the door. When Lin Zhichao walked into the conference room, he closed the door from the outside.

The new female employee whispered to her colleagues, "The boss is so handsome!"

The male colleague next door quickly made a 'shush' gesture and warned some beautiful and ignorant new employees and 'apprentices': "Keep your voice down! If Assistant Tang finds out, I'll be careful about the little shoes you wear."

The female staff immediately said indifferently: "Master! Assistant Tang is a good person, so he won't be narrow-minded!"

The male colleague was speechless for a moment. Sure enough, a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, and he can speak freely. The key is that he can't refute. If you refute it, wouldn't it be that the "Madam Boss" is stingy, and it would offend people even more.

Moreover, as a veteran employee, I also found that Cheung Kong has a large proportion of female employees (20%), which is something that other companies do not have.

Everyone understands that this is the enlightenment of the boss.

The reason why Lin Zhichao recruited female employees according to the ratio of 20% was because Tang Caiyun and Lin Xiner worked in the company, and then took advantage of the trend to train some female employees. Of course, this kind of company where men and women work together is also very effective, at least the atmosphere is better.

Of course, although the company does not explicitly prohibit 'internal love', it is obviously not allowed; if it is discovered, one person will definitely be transferred from the post and assigned to a subordinate company.

Lin Zhichao walked into the conference room, and more than a dozen high-level executives had already arrived, including Tang Caiyun, who also attended the meeting.

"When will the Paterson Street project start?"

Hearing Lin Zhichao's inquiry, Huang Changhong immediately reported: "Construction started in early September."

Lin Zhichao nodded. This project has a total of nine buildings. Each building is a commercial and residential project with a large floor area, which can provide 2120 residential units and a large number of commercial floors.

Among them, seven buildings are 17 floors high and two buildings are 22 floors high. The reason why seven buildings are only 17 floors is because of low construction costs. The floor area has not been reduced because they are larger. The two tall buildings are located at the intersection, and the two buildings are located on both sides of Jiande George Street. There are department stores on one side and shopping centers on the other, driving the retail business in this area in one fell swoop.

"How is the situation at Daimaru Department Store in Hoshidao?"

Lin Shaodong, the person in charge of retail commercial real estate, reported: "Daimaru Department Store has sent people to station, and our project department is coordinating. Daimaru Department Store says it is ready to open on Christmas!"

The progress is neither fast nor slow, and the grasp is just right. This year, the self-government of Sing Tao has crossed from the 1950s to the 1960s.

The Miramar Hotel project is expected to open in 1961. The entire project will take four years from project establishment to opening.

In the conference room, everyone discussed the progress and operation of its projects. Because the commercial real estate projects of Yangtze River Industrial are relatively large, the content is naturally more complicated.

"Miramar Hotel is looking for a well-known hotel chain in the United States to cooperate with us to improve our reputation in the industry in Hong Kong. Promotion and management are all part of the cooperation. You have to do this. After one month, I hope to see your Probably choose a plan!”

For a management fee of approximately 5% of the turnover, you can get the reservation system and promotion system of a large hotel chain, as well as send people to Hong Kong for management.

These are very cost-effective for a hotel novice. Although Cheung Kong has been recruiting hotel professionals, there are no systematic success stories after all.

"OK"

The senior executives heard the boss's domineering speech and responded quickly.

The boss asks everyone to do this, and everyone must arrange it as soon as possible; the important thing is that they know that the boss can't rub the sand out of his eyes and has very high requirements for things. The things that come to mind are long-term and much more than others think.

For example, when it comes to the management of Miramar Hotel, everyone may think that they can run it for a period of time and then bring in outside management according to the situation; but the boss needs to bring in outside management now, so that it will be safer when it opens.

After the meeting, Lin Zhichao returned to his office. He suddenly discovered that Cheung Kong Holdings was already huge. That is, with the current assets, when it was listed in 1972, it could exceed the sum of the "Five Real Estate Tigers".

Of course, Lin Zhichao would not be so high-profile, and only a small number of assets would be listed in the future (in 1972). However, there will be multiple companies listed, such as: Cheung Kong Industrial Group (real estate + doll noodles), Miramar Hotel (five-star hotel + shopping mall), Uniqlo clothing company (crocodile shirt + traveler luggage).

661 King's Road, North Point.

Tang Zhongyuan's "Oriental Building" officially opened today. He invited many people to attend, and Lin Zhichao naturally came to the ribbon-cutting ceremony to save face for his father-in-law.

The Oriental Building has a total of 12 floors, with a floor area of ​​17,000 square feet per floor and a floor area of ​​nearly 200,000 square feet. It is an industrial building.

Since it was a good time for Hong Kong's industrial development, it was quickly rented out; Tang Zhongyuan also moved part of the garment production business into three floors.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Lin Zhichao was in the middle, while Tang Zhongyuan and Song Qiaoling were on both sides, holding ribbons.

Lin Zhichao was holding the scissors, but he was cutting the ribbon, and Tang Zhongyuan and his wife were just deputies. The simple truth is that generally the ribbon-cutting ceremony involves either inviting the most important guests to cut the ribbon, or the protagonist cutting the ribbon. Of course, Lin Zhichao can be regarded as Tang Zhongyuan's "elite". On this point, Tang Zhongyuan and his wife will not deny it, and neither will anyone in the Hong Kong business community. .

Behind the ribbon-cutting person, there were hundreds of guests, looking ahead. Everyone came to congratulate him, most of them were businessmen from Shanghai, and many were tenants.

As Lin Zhichao closed his scissors, the ribbon was divided into two, and everyone applauded and congratulated. Those who came to participate included Tang Bingyuan, An Zijie, Tang Xiangqian and other textile tycoons, as well as descendants of the Rong family.

At the subsequent cocktail party, Tang Bingyuan said with a smile: "Oriental Group plans to develop comprehensively across textiles, garments, and real estate. Zhong Yuan is quite courageous!"

Everyone flattered him one after another! In fact, everyone understands that Tang Zhongyuan's biggest advantage is that he married his two daughters to Lin Zhichao. If you say he is very capable, naturally everyone will not take it seriously. Because textiles are also the most difficult test of one's skills. Product updates are fierce and competition is fierce. Whoever can become the top three in this industry may be regarded as having great skills.

Tang Zhongyuan has such good conditions, and its scale has dropped from the top three to the current top five. Although the Eastern Group focuses on the 'garment industry', it is still regarded as a failing point of Tang Zhongyuan.

Of course, Oriental Group is still the leader in the textile and garment industry because Oriental Garments is the largest garment factory in Hong Kong.

Tang Zhongyuan said modestly: "No, Dongfang Group is not going into real estate. It just plans to invest in two factory buildings, which can be used for self-use or for rent."

There is also a building in Chai Wan, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

At the reception, Tang Bingyuan, Tang Zhongyuan, and Tang Xiangqian, the three weavers of the Tang family, immediately eclipsed the brothers of the Rong family.

The Wing family was the first to open a textile factory in Hong Kong, but due to poor management, several factories were merged into other companies.

However, the three lines of the Tang family have developed well in Hong Kong. Tang Bingyuan's Nanhai Textile is the largest textile factory in Hong Kong, Tang Zhongyuan's textile factory is the fifth, and the garment factory is the first. Tang Xiangqian is also showing his prominence in the textile factory.

After the opening ceremony, Lin Zhichao, Tang Zhongyuan, Tang Xianqian and his son went to a restaurant in North Point for dinner.

Tang Xianqian is Lin Zhichao's oldest brother-in-law, and there is another brother-in-law named Tang Youqian. Both brothers are studying abroad, but Tang Xianqian just graduated from university this year and received a bachelor's degree from a prestigious British university. He came back to help Tang Zhongyuan.

"In a few days, I plan to take Xianqian to Nigeria to open the first textile factory."

Lin Zhichao looked at Tang Xianqian and said with a smile, "Does Xianqian plan to work in Africa for a long time?"

Tang Xianqian smiled and said, "Dad asked me to study there for a while and then return to Hong Kong when I'm on the right track!"

Tang Zhongyuan added: "If the business in Nigeria is fully developed, I am afraid that the scale will be huge. And the garment industry in Hong Kong is also developing at a high speed. I am very busy now. If Xianqian has a few costs from your brother-in-law, I feel much more relaxed.”

Lin Zhichao said modestly: "My father-in-law is worrying too much. Xianqian graduated from Mingka University. He works calmly and is definitely better than me back then."

Tang Xianqian immediately said: "Brother-in-law, you really think highly of me. I dare not even think about comparing myself to you!"

Lin Zhichao immediately smiled and said, "Haha, you must dare to think, how can you not dare to think about doing business! If you can do it in such a big market in Nigeria, my brother-in-law will also look at you with admiration."

Tang Xianqian suddenly became very motivated and said, "Brother-in-law, don't worry, I will definitely go over there and do it seriously!"

A piece of encouragement is more effective than the words of Tang Zhongyuan, a father. This is the power of role models.

Tang Zhongyuan was naturally happy for his son to listen to Lin Zhichao and learn Lin Zhichao's business skills.

He has two sons. The younger son will graduate from college in three years, and the older son will graduate this year at the right time. The Eastern Group's business in Hong Kong is so big, it's impossible for him to stay in Nigeria for too long, so he can only bring a few able-bodied officers with him, plus his eldest son, and he will run on both sides in the future.

If Nigeria's textile and garment industry can be taken over in the future, then his family will be equivalent to having two "business centers" - textile and garment in Hong Kong and textile and garment in Nigeria.

As for the real estate business, Tang Zhongyuan still didn't take it seriously.

Worldwide shipping.

"Boss, the fleet of Huaxing Shipping has increased to seven ships, with a total tonnage of 58,000 tons. At present, the main business is to lease to local shipping companies, that is, shipping companies with a background in the mainland." Feng Yongfa reported.

Lin Zhichao looked at the information in his hand, the data was very gratifying, and asked: "The original owners of the two Liberty ships belonged to the Greek ship owner?"

Feng Yongfa nodded and said: "It seems so! Now that European and American shipping has entered the cold winter, Greek shipowners are also having a hard time, so they sold many free ships. At the beginning of last year, the price of one ship was as high as 300,000 pounds (840,000 US dollars). Now it is only It cost £70,000 (US$200,000), so I just happened to see it, so I bought it together.”

The Freewheel was built in the 1940s and operated without problems until the late 1970s. It was even operated in the Mainland until the 1980s.

Lin Zhichao continued: "Is there any risk in leasing to a shipping company with a mainland background?"

Feng Yongfa said: "It is flying the British flag and renting from a Hong Kong company, so there is no risk. Moreover, the mainland needs 10 million tons of ocean shipping capacity every year and 6 million tons of coastal transportation capacity. They don't have many merchant ships, so It is jokingly called 'the largest tenant in international shipping' by the international shipping industry, and the annual rent it needs to pay is US$80 million."

Lin Zhichao frowned and said, "How much foreign exchange will this cost?"

He is also a Chinese, so there is no reason why he should not feel sorry for the country.

Feng Yongfa said: "Ideology cannot be changed. Under the planned economy, many people think that buying a ship with a loan is unacceptable."

"Hey," Lin Zhichao sighed, and then said: "I hope someone can change this situation. You know, in recent years, it only takes 18 months to pay back the cost of buying a ship with a loan, and you can still make money after two years of operation. .”

The price of second-hand ships is too low, but there is no shortage of business in the mainland, and even the shipping situation in Asia is better than in Europe.

Feng Yongfa is a little strange. His boss is most afraid of trouble, but he is worried about the country and the people, but naturally he will not ask about this!

In fact, what Lin Zhichao didn't know was that Cheng Wenzhu, an overseas Chinese, was planning to go to the capital in October, and proposed to "buy a boat with a loan" again, and finally got approval.

The following days will be the "high-speed period" of Huaxia Ocean's development. In the 1960s and 1970s, Huaxia used Hong Kong, a "treasure place" in the world's second-hand ship market, to purchase a large number of second-hand ships. Thousands of tons of second-hand and new ships.

Of course, for a big country, the deadweight of tens of millions of tons is nothing, but when it was developed in the 1980s, it would not still rely heavily on chartering ocean-going trade.

At this time in China, the industrial foundation is weak, and it takes 3-5 years to build a 5,000-ton steamship, costing more than 1 million pounds; and Huaxia can only buy a small number of merchant ships from countries in the same camp, so the development of shipping is very special. slow.

But thanks to the bridge of Hong Kong, we were able to finally break through the obstacles by using various means such as overseas Chinese businessmen, flying flags of convenience, and low-key purchases of second-hand ships.

Otherwise, in the 1980s, if there is no certain tonnage, when the national shipping company buys a second-hand ship, it will immediately cause a sensation in the market and the price of the ship will skyrocket.

Just like in the previous life, the state entrusted Guo Huonian to purchase 300,000 tons of sugar. If the international market knows that China is going to buy 300,000 tons of white sugar, then for a market of only 10 million tons (yearly), the price of white sugar will at least double . Therefore, he had no choice but to entrust his former competitor Guo Huonian to buy in the international market. Guo Huonian lived up to expectations—while going to the international sugar industry conference, he arranged for his confidants to buy white sugar in the Brazilian market, avoiding the sight of the national sugar giant; At the same time, after purchasing 300,000 tons of sugar for the country, Guo Huonian bought some sugar futures in the London market, and then released the news. That is to say, after completing the tasks assigned by the country, he can make a lot of money.

a week later.

Lin Zhichao came to Japan and built six 100,000-ton oil tankers in one go, and ordered two 12,000-ton "Kabaoqi" passenger and cargo ships.

The 12,000-ton "Carbosch" passenger and cargo ship can be loaded with cargo and people, and can reach the west coast of the United States 3 to 4 days earlier than normal ships. In this era, there are quite a few people going to the United States by boat. First, the price is cheap, and second, some people are afraid of flying. Therefore, the shipping time of about 20 days is acceptable to many people.

At the same time, Lin Zhichao also renewed contracts for dozens of second-hand ships with three large Japanese shipping companies. These boats could have been eliminated by the mid-1960s, so this time Lin Zhichao was very easy to talk to, and the price was very attractive.

In Sanguang Shipping, Toshio Kawamoto talked about an incident: "Mr. Lin, there is a ship owner in Hong Kong named Bao Yugang, who also came to our company to sell ships some time ago, and the conditions he offered are a little better than you! "

When Lin Zhichao heard the words, he immediately knew that Bao Yugang was also selecting second-hand ships in major ports around the world to expand his fleet.

Shipowners like Bao Yugang and Zhao Congyan can use the opportunity of two or three years to expand their fleet to around 20 ships.

But Lin Zhichao is not in a hurry. At present, Global Shipping, Japanese shipyards, and Japanese shipping companies have reached a tacit understanding, so it is impossible to be replaced by Bao Yugang. At most, it will just branch off a small business.

"President Kawamoto said that, he has already chosen us, after all, chartering a boat can't just be based on the price!"

The reputation of Global Shipping and the quality of its sailors are currently not comparable to that of Bao Yugang; moreover, Lin Zhichao has a "tacit understanding" in building so many ships in Japan.

Sure enough, Toshio Kawamoto did not continue to bargain, but said: "That's true. We trust Global Shipping and still regard you as our main partner."

Lin Zhichao expressed his gratitude!

After successfully signing the contracts of the three companies, Lin Zhichao is still in a good mood. Although the current annual profit of second-hand cargo ships with a deadweight of 700,000 tons has dropped sharply to US$10-12 million, they are still very profitable.

Because if these boats were sold, they would not even be worth $200,000 apiece.

Therefore, although the market has fallen, Hong Kong shipowners are still very profitable. The purchase price of ships has plummeted, and seafarers' wages are still not high. The advantage is too great.

In fact, this is an opportunity for Hong Kong shipowners!

Shipping in Greece and Japan has completely failed, and it is time for Hong Kong shipowners to officially enter the international stage.

This is the third generation of shipping stars! (End of chapter)